Invisible Callings
by Hydra-Star
Summary: Makino and Shanks find themselves alone one night in the bar. What do they think? What happens when the uncomfortible silence begins to get to them both? MakinoShanks


Oh, why couldn't there have been other people in the Party's Bar that night? It was so uncomfortable, just the two of them. She could feel his eyes on her, although she didn't know why he was watching her. Perhaps he just needed something to look at. Either way, it felt as if his eyes were drilling holes into her — it was as if he could see all her deepest darkest secrets that she kept hidden away in her heart.  
  
Makino carefully kept her eyes away from the red haired captain. She knew that if she looked at him even once, she wouldn't be able to look away and then he would tell her that she was starring at him. That would just be so embarrassing. She couldn't do that. She wouldn't. But she wanted to. She wanted to so badly. And she wanted to see him looking back at her like she was all he could see. She wanted him to look at her like the men in the books that she read did.  
  
Makino mentally hit herself. What was she thinking? He was a pirate captain. She was a bar maid. Even if he **did** love her, which he definitely didn't, they could never be together. It just wouldn't work.  
  
Makino finished cleaning the glass that she had been holding and reached for another. She watched her hands as she did her work. She liked doing this. It was a nice mindless task that made it easy to think. And she never was one of those people who could just sit down and think. She liked to have something to do with her hands. And if she didn't want to think, she could do that too. It was easy.  
  
The soft rag and the smooth glass felt good under her callused hands. She concentrated of that feeling, trying her best to ignore the presence of the pirate captain. Why did it have to be so hard? He didn't love her, so why did she have to love him?  
  
Her life used to be simple, without questions like that. Sailors and other men of the sea would come to the town and use it as a port for a while. She would get to know them, joke with them, give them their drinks, become their friend... and then after a while, they would leave. Then Shanks and his crew came. And she fell in love. How she knew it was love, she did not know, but it was.  
  
She really had no chance with him. He was handsome. There were probably many woman out there who would love to be his girl. He could pick between any of them. She wasn't even pretty. Not at all. She knew that. She wouldn't try to change it. There was nothing she could do about it. She really just wasn't in the running. There was no way that he'd like some girl who worked at a bar! She sighed softly, finishing with that glass and setting it aside.  
  
She wasn't looking at him. But why? Why wouldn't she meet his gaze? Was she mad at him for something? Indeed, the pirate captain was quite confused. Shanks watched as Miko put away the glass that she had been drying and picked up the next one. Why wouldn't she meet his gaze? Why? Why? _Why?_  
  
He and Miko met almost a year ago. He had liked her as soon as he saw her. She was kind, sweet, not to mention that she worked at a bar. He hadn't fallen in love with her immediately. That was a strange word, 'love'. When was that last time that he had used it in that sense... Never. He had never _really_ been in love. Of course, when he was still a teenager, he'd had his crushes, but nothing serious. But with Makino... With Makino it seemed like something more than just a childhood crush. It seemed serious. He had never really felt that way about anyone.  
  
Shanks watched Makino's small hands as they dried the glass. She did it in this rhythmic way. It was almost automatic for her — a sign of much practice. His eyes moved up to her face. No emotion showed on it, just calmness. A small smile flittered across her beautiful face as a thought came into her mind, but it only lasted for a second. It only took a second to make Shanks' heart leap. Why did she have this affect on him? No woman had ever had this affect on him before.  
  
She sighed softly — almost to soft for him to hear — and set the glass aside. She reached over to pick up another, only to find that there were no more in need of drying. A slight frown crossed her lovely face. She hesitated for a moment, almost as if she was trying to decide what to do next, and began to put the dry ones away. Shanks sighed heavily. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable. She probably didn't like being around a pirate. Instantly he thought that she had no problem being around the rest of the crew when they were all in there, but dismissed the thought. That was different. He couldn't expect her to act the same way when it was just the two of them.  
  
He stood with every intention of leaving, but as he did his hand knocked against something, knocking it off the counter. He looked up to see that he had knocked over several glasses.  
  
"Oh, God, Mikino! I'm so sorry!" And he meant it, too. The would probably just make her life that much harder. They may even take it off of her paycheck! He hoped that they didn't do that. Mikino wasn't exactly rich. She lived off the income this job brought her. She needed it.  
  
"It's okay, Captain," she said as she bent down to pick up some of the bigger pieced before she swiped up the rest.  
  
"Let me help you with that," he said quickly, going around to the back of the bar and bending down. "It's the least I can do."  
  
"Oh, you don't have to. Really. If you have some place to be--"  
  
"I want to. This is my fault."  
  
"O-Okay..."  
  
There was silence again. Only this time, it wasn't quite as uncomfortable. Once he thought he saw her looking at him out of the corners of her eyes, but he couldn't be sure. He knew that he was stealing glances at her out of the corners of _his_ eyes.  
  
"Ouch!" Miko cried a few minutes later. She'd cut her hand on a sharp piece of glass. Somehow she'd managed to get a long gash all the way across the top of her hand.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just a scratch. I wonder if we have any bandaged around here." She stood and opened a few drawers until she found some. She sat down at the bar and began to rap the bandage around her hand.  
  
Man, rapping up her own hand was harder than Makino thought it would be. Especially since it was her right hand that was hurt so she had to do everything with her left hand. The stupid bandage kept slipping!  
  
"Do you want some help?" She smiled at the pirate captain.  
  
"Thanks, Captain." He sat down on the stool next to hers and took her hand in one of his and the bandage in the other.  
  
" Mikino, how many times have I told you that you can just call me Shanks?"  
  
"Oh! Sorry Cap-- Shanks. I keep forgetting." It wasn't that. Calling him Captain was a way of making herself remember that he was out of her league. If she called him Shanks, it would feel to much like they were friends, or even more.  
  
His rough hands felt so good on hers. She just wished like they could stay like that forever. But then again, she wished that he could love her and she wished that she could tell him her feelings. And, of course, they couldn't stay like that forever. Some wishes just don't come true. But she wished they did.  
  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own One Piece. I never have, and I never will.


End file.
